Who Would Like This Book:
If you're looking for fantasy that pushes boundaries, this book is a knockout. The world-building is top-tier - think earthquakes, supervolcanoes, and a magic system unlike anything else out there. The narrative structure keeps you guessing, weaving together different timelines and characters in unexpected ways. It's a story about survival, oppression, family, and resistance, with deeply flawed but compelling characters. If you love immersive, original worlds, bold narrative choices (yes, there’s second-person POV!), and stories that blend science fiction with epic fantasy, you’ll be hooked. Fans of thought-provoking, socially aware speculative fiction will be especially drawn in.
Who May Not Like This Book:
Some readers struggled with the fragmented timeline, nonlinear structure, and the use of present and second-person narration - it can be disorienting or feel like a stylistic gimmick. If you prefer straightforward, chronological storytelling, or want a more traditional or light-hearted fantasy, this might not be your cup of tea. The book is heavy, both thematically (oppression, trauma, apocalyptic darkness) and in tone, and it doesn’t shy away from grim realities. It may also feel emotionally draining if you’re seeking escapism or a more hopeful tale.
About:
The Fifth Season is a captivating blend of fantasy and science fiction set in a geologically unstable future Earth. The story follows individuals with the magical ability to control the earth's structures, known as orogenes, who are feared and oppressed by society. Through multiple perspectives, the book weaves together a tale of survival, discrimination, and the impending end of the world. N.K. Jemisin's unique writing style, intricate world-building, and complex characters create an immersive and thought-provoking narrative that explores themes of power, oppression, and resilience.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Triggers include violence against children, murder, and themes of slavery and oppression.
From The Publisher:
At the end of the world, a woman must hide her secret power and find her kidnapped daughter in this "intricate and extraordinary" Hugo Award winning novel of power, oppression, and revolution. (The New York Times)
This is the way the world ends. . .for the last time.
It starts with the great red rift across the heart of the world's sole continent, spewing ash that blots out the sun. It starts with death, with a murdered son and a missing daughter. It starts with betrayal, and long dormant wounds rising up to fester.
This is the Stillness, a land long familiar with catastrophe, where the power of the earth is wielded as a weapon. And where there is no mercy.
Read the first book in the critically acclaimed, three-time Hugo award-winning trilogy by
NYT bestselling author N. K. Jemisin.
Ratings (481)
Incredible (112) | |
Loved It (150) | |
Liked It (117) | |
It Was OK (46) | |
Did Not Like (45) | |
Hated It (11) |
Reader Stats (1297):
Read It (478) | |
Currently Reading (10) | |
Want To Read (593) | |
Did Not Finish (45) | |
Not Interested (171) |
17 comment(s)
Pretty dang good
Well that was awful. And this was one of those books I’d had near the top of my tbr for years thinking it was sure to be great. Reading negative reviews complaining that it was too confusing and experimental only made me more excited. But it’s no more confusing than any other spec-fic novel that expects you to make sense of new terms and factions thrown at you (this one even has a glossary), and the second person perspective is easy to get used to but didn’t add much. An interesting novelty I guess. The worldbuilding that has been praised to high heavens brings together various elements and themes that have all been done better elsewhere (I know, I know, everything’s been done already). But what put me off the most was that the writing was absolutely insufferable, with snarky characters, heaps of italics, and these overly dramatic recycled constructions like
“He was there, anyway, so it must be–
Oh. *Oh*.
Oh bloody, burning Earth.”
or
“But there is an order to life here, and her place within it is not to question a Guardian’s will.
But…
But…
But.”
There were several reveals, but they were so heavily foreshadowed that they completely fell flat. The one I didn’t see coming was so eye-roll inducing I still couldn’t appreciate it. There were also a few plot points that I couldn’t stand but won’t spoil. Let’s just say the book felt written for libfems who usually read YA and romantasy, which is pretty far removed from what I’d been led to expect.
Don't like 2nd person POV and the MC seemed kinda boring.
Wow! This book has amazing world building, character development and story telling. It takes some adjustment, at least for me, to get used to the switch between second and third person. The world also drops in place slowly. There's a lot of showing instead of telling so it takes a bit to understand what's going on. If you have patience and make it through the first hundred pages, I feel like you'll enjoy this book. It was such a ride. This book just so happens to have 2 of my new favorite quotes of the year.
Quotes:
The shake that passes will echo. The wave that recedes will come back. The mountain that rumbles will roar. - Tablet One, "On Survival," verse five
The body fades. A leader who would last relies on more. - Tablet Three, "Structures," verse two
10/18/2017: reread.
2015:
Slow start. Great worldbuilding. I didn't realize/consult the appendices and was totally fine, all very natural. It took me until at least the halfway point to get REALLY sucked in. The end hit me like a train--there was too much book left! No, just glossaries, etc. Great ending/ending line, no closure, really more of a fissure. Great, another fantasy series for which I'm desperately waiting for the next installment.
I didn't read this, so mainly I'm putting this here as a reminder to myself. This book is not written in a style that I find appealing. I got a short way in and could tell that it was going to be unconventional in a way that clever people like. I am not one of those people.
DNF ~30%ish. It just wasn't for me. Even though it's labeled as a Sci-fi book, to me it was more drama general fiction set in a Sci-fi world if that makes any sense. The writing for some parts is also basically a woman talking about herself in third person (I guess) which I STRUGGLED with. It definitely has it's place, but not for me.
4.5 ⭐️
That was incredible. What a book! I love the magic system. It is so bizarre and unique but it totally works in this world. It gave Three Body Problem vibes for some reason? Probably the impending doom and world constantly ending and reforming again. For a fantasy book, this has a lot of sci-fi elements which I think help keep it fresh. I've seen all these elements in different books (and other media) before but never all together. I think this really helps the book stand out. Also some M.L. Wang vibes for sure.
I really liked the non-linear story telling. I wouldn't normally say that but I think Jemisin 100% pulled it off. I love feeling smart when I figure out the reveal before the book tells me (even though it was pretty obvious and I think I was supposed to figure it out before the reveal).
I only didn't like some of the romance stuff. It was great representation but it felt oddly crass? The rest of this world is something akin to a standard heroic fantasy novel so I think the physical romance just seemed out of place when the rest of the story wasn't as graphic. Maybe I'm just a hetero prude tho so what do I know. It definitely served a purpose so it wasn't wasted words or anything (
I read it a few months ago but decided to reread as I didn't remember much. I have to say I was confused while reading it and didn't get everything but I think I like it anyway haha
“She's heard the rumors and now she knows they're true: The ten-ringer has the whole floor to himself. This, then, is the true reward for excellence: privacy. And choice.”
3.5 rating
A fairly interesting world building book that took ~15% of the book to get me interested and aware of the story which shifts to a different seemingly disconnected character with each chapter. Don’t fully understand the overall high rating for this book but oh well.
What can you read after
The Fifth Season?
About the Author:
N. K. Jemisin was raised in Mobile, Alabama and New York City. Uprooted in two places, her childhood anchor was fiction; she spent hours at the local library, and “self published” her own handwritten books with cardboard covers and yarn binding.
Despite writing since childhood, she considered it to be just a hobby until her early thirties. After attending the Viable Paradise writing workshop, she began seeking publication in earnest. Although she acquired an agent in 2005, her first novel (THE KILLING MOON, eventually published in 2012) did not initially sell, as the genre at the time was significantly less welcoming to inclusive fantasy. Instead she rewrote from scratch an old “trunked” novel — which sold at six-figure auction to become THE HUNDRED THOUSAND KINGDOMS (2010) and its sequels. In 2016, her novel THE FIFTH SEASON (2015) won the Hugo Award for Best Novel, making Jemisin the first Black person to have won in this category. In 2017 she won again for THE OBELISK GATE (2016), and then a third time in 2018 for THE STONE SKY, making her the first author in genre history to have won the Best Novel Hugo three consecutive times. In all, her short fiction and novels have won Hugos, a Nebula, and two Locus Awards, and have been translated into more than 20 languages. Her current Great Cities trilogy is ongoing, beginning with the New York Times bestselling THE CITY WE BECAME. She is a 2020 recipient of the MacArthur ‘Genius’ Fellowship.
Jemisin’s most frequent themes include resistance to oppression, the inseverability of the liminal, and the coolness of Stuff Blowing Up. She has been an advocate for the long tradition of science fiction and fantasy as political resistance, and previously championed genre as a New York Times Book reviewer. She lives in Brooklyn.
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